June 30, 2010

I love how thick and substantial the layered CS feels on these cards. I was afraid they wouldn't feel as nice as the cards I make without the Cricut but I was wrong. Once I understood the construction of these I realized the front cover (including the inside backing) was 4 layers. if you look at it you may only think there are 3 layers though right? well the whiskers on the hinge side are "missing" on the card base so you actually cut a second layer of shadow image and adhere it to the front, thus replacing the missing whiskers. It was a little tricky to figure out at first.

June 25, 2010

I've been so excited to use these folders. They really are some of my favorite tools already but the Tim Holtz ones are a great addition to the more "cute" Cuttlebug folders I already own. It came in handy pretty quick too with Father's Day last weekend.

With this card I used the Patchwork embossing folder on Grunge Paper (which was not what I expected it to be. it's thicker than CS, more like a thin chipboard). I ran it through my Sizzix to emboss the grunge paper. Then I inked each patch a different color using Distress ink and a Colorbox Blending Stylus (this tool offers more precision that the Ranger one). Once each patch was colored I used a direct to paper method and applied the black ink right over the top of the raised embossing. This made all the borders and images pop.

The Father's Day diecut letters were from Cricut Wild Cart Cartridge. It was just a single solid image originally. I cut it once in the blue and once in the red and then cut the words apart. Then foam tape stacked them for depth.

My Dad is really into his modified Harley trike right now so it needed a motorcycle charm. Of course a happy coincidence was the clock hand/arrow, Dad immediately saw it as a "gauge" *of course*. LOL

On the inside of the card I used the notebook paper Cricut cut from Graphically Speaking and embossed it in a random fashion using the Tim Holtz Notebook paper embossing folder. To do this I placed the diecut into the embossing folder and tapped on the folder to emboss the images where I wanted texture. This left the center of the notebook paper flat to make it easier to write a message.

June 21, 2010

I have 3 "Mom's" I try and do something for each year. doesn't always happen but sometimes better late than never right? With my husband getting ready to deploy soon it was a bit chaotic around here the last month or so.

I found this purse at Fred Meyer's and immediately thought of my MIL. She loves pretty girlie things like I do and has the best house old house for displaying such things. (it's older than any *town* around here LOL)

On this card I used the Mother's Day Solutions Cricut Cartridge to cut out "Mama" but since DH calls his Mom "Ma" I just cut it down by hand. ;) Also used this cartridge for the layered damask cut behind it. It's hard to tell from the picture but the patterned paper I used here was Paris Nights by GCD Studios from a couple winters back. it had the prettiest gold pearl shimmer to it. The embossing on the corner of the vellum (and the purple polkadots on the front lower right corner) was done using a Cuttlebug folder and a technique my friend Susan Stringfellow taught me! She uses a pair of the old Quickutz handtools, I found just setting it on the desk and tapping along the pattern I want to reveal with my Making Memories Hammer was enough force to decorate the edges of this a bit.

A card I made for my stepmom. another use of the Mother's Day Solutions Cartridge. I really loved the pinwheel on this cartridge. Way better than the hand made square ones I have always done. The flower they give you for the center is great too. Since I needed a bunch of pattern papers for this I used the 6x6 paper stacks I have accumulated over time. I think I used 3 different ones on this. Easy to coordinate and already cut down for multiple cuts on the Cricut at once!

I still have one more gift to give MY Mom now but that might take me most of the summer to complete and she already knows it is coming ;) (Making her an 8x8 chipboard album on her wedding pictures using the MME Lush collection that is done in velvet! I can't wait to create it!